Coronavirus: US stocks lift on stimulus measures despite Europe turmoil March 20, 2020 US stocks lifted slightly on the open this afternoon as traders reacted to massive amounts of government stimulus aimed at containing the coronavirus crisis. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5 per cent before rising just 0.1 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.3 per cent. The Dow Jones posted a 0.5 per cent rise shortly [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak to announce wage bailout plan March 20, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a massive wage bailout package today to battle the UK coronavirus outbreak. Business groups yesterday pressed the government to step in to help pay workers’ wages. They want protection for millions of jobs as the number of UK coronavirus cases spiked again. Britain’s death toll from coronavirus reached [...]
Bank of England cancels stress tests over coronavirus March 20, 2020 The Bank of England has cancelled this year’s stress test of major banks in Britain, saying it could be hard to implement new global capital rules while lenders are focused on supporting customer lending amid the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank’s decision to scrap the test of the UK’s eight top banks comes after the [...]
Coronavirus to spark “severe” global recession March 20, 2020 The coronavirus is having a severe effect on global economic activity and amidst considerable uncertainty we have attempted to gauge the impact and updated our forecasts. We now expect to see the world economy contract this year by 3.1%, before rebounding by 7.2% in 2021. The forecast incorporates a severe recession in the first half [...]
Will British businesses stand behind Bailey? March 20, 2020 Most people spend their first week in a new job getting to know people and figuring out how the printer works. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey ends his first week having slashed interest rates to the lowest level in the institution’s 325-year history. When he writes a book about his time at Threadneedle St [...]
Uber shares surge by almost 40 per cent after torrid week March 19, 2020 Uber’s stock price has surged by nearly 40 per cent today, after its chief executive said the company would have billions in cash at the end of the year even in the worst case scenarios. Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts today that the ride-sharing app would have $4bn in cash at the end of 2020, and [...]
Bank of England slashes rates to historic low amid coronavirus pandemic March 19, 2020 The Bank of England has slashed interest rates to a new record low and will pump £200bn into the economy through its quantitative easing (QE) bond-buying programme as it seeks to curb the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Bank today held an emergency meeting and cut its main rate by 15 basis (0.15 percentage [...]
These are all the Tube stations closed under London coronavirus measures March 19, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) took the unprecedented step of closing down 40 Tube stations today and has also shut down the Waterloo & City line. It is also cutting services on lines such as the DLR, London Overground, trams and TfL Rail, as well as operating a Saturday-style bus service. The drastic measure came in [...]
FTSE 100 shoots back up after Bank of England slashes rates over coronavirus March 19, 2020 The UK’s FTSE 100 managed to climb this afternoon after the Bank of England announced £200bn of quantitative easing and slashed interest rates close to zero. European stocks also turned green, having been mired in the red despite the European Central Bank (ECB) announcing a €750bn (£700bn) asset purchase programme to deal with the coronavirus [...]
Coronavirus: Death toll in the UK rises to 137 March 19, 2020 The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has risen from 103 to 137. It comes after NHS England confirmed a further 29 people who tested positive for coronavirus in England had died. The patients were aged between 47 and 96 years old and had underlying health conditions. [...]